Managing People;

 

Loss of focus is an occupational hazard faced by most managers of growing companies. The bigger a company gets, the more distractions there are. As a result, managers often spend their time putting out fires instead of addressing the issues that are causing the problems in the first place. The effect over time is to stunt the company's growth.

That possibility worried Fred Bramante Jr., founder of Daddy's Junky Music Stores Inc., based in Salem, N. H. His solution: one-sentence job descriptions for seven of his top managers. "For example," Bramante explains, "this is the product specialist's job description: 'All salespeople will understand their products . . . and be able to communicate their knowledge in a way that will deserve the respect and the business of the customer.' The logic is simple. If the salespeople don't understand, say, a new keyboard, then the product specialist will have to run around demonstrating it to customers. What he's doing is putting his finger in the dike. When he leaves, it will start leaking again. But if he teaches the salesperson to use the product, then he's patched the hole."